Stucco News

Question and answers on Stucco and Plastering-- September,
2011

Finestone
aggregated stucco

"Finestone" was
the
name
of
an
aggregated
stucco finish that was popular in the
1960's and 1970's.
The generic name is just aggregated stucco finish,
but usually
was referred to as Finestone, a system
made by Finestone Corporation.
Finestone was an expensive method of stucco, requiring
more skill and
more materials than more
conventional stucco.
Aggregated finishes were far less expensive than
exposed
aggregate concrete, that finestone was
made to duplicate.

We did
this
Finestone in 1992, with finish coat materials from
Finestone
Corporation. Finestone supplied the cement, the
rocks screened to
size,
the acrylic additive that made this all work, and the
sealer.

At one time,a contractor needed a franchise to apply
Finestone.
Included in the franchise was national advertising
support, an intense
2 week training
class for foremen, and the right to buy Finestone
materials.

I had an original Finestone training manual from the
1970's that someone
gave me, but unfortunately I threw it away. I at least
read most of it.

We also did this color
Finestone
in 1992. The rocks were checked by Finestone to make
sure they didn't
contain iron oxide, which could stain the finished wall.
Here we used a
reddish mortar and a reddish river stone.

Sorry for the teeny pictures. These have been on my site
since 1999,
when page loading time was more critical. I plan to
replace these
pictures when I can find the originals and scan them in.

At least you can see that this is a beautiful material,
and looks like
precast concrete from a distance.

MYSTIC
SECRET
REVEALED !

The biggest mystic secret of Finestone was to seal the
basecoat with acrylic before applying the finish.

This kills the suction of the basecoat. In other words,
if you
don't do this, the mortar will set up too fast, and the
rocks won't
stick when you throw them in.

The finish coat had an incredibly strong bond. Take this
from someone who has patched this before, and had to
chip
off some of the finish with a chisel.

Here's a view of the
finish we
are trying to duplicate.

Finestone was an innovator in color stucco finishes, and
the
use of acrylics in stucco finish.

Not only is Finestone beautiful, but is extremely hard,
and
well bonded.

Color aggregates such as broken glass and colored rocks
can be added fo different decorative effects.

One usually has to look close to tell that this is
stucco, and not
exposed aggregate concrete.

ANOTHER
MYSTIC
SECRET.The brown coat must be dead straight for this
to look
right.
Any hollows, and the
rocks will embed
too far causing a
"bald" appearance.
Likewise, any humps
in the wall will
prevent the rocks from
being embedded deep enough, creating a "hairy"
appearance.
These areas are visible
from a distance, more
so than close up, due to the shadowing of the rocks.
We used string lines and plumb bobs years ago
when we did this to
make sure the wall was straight.

Throwing on the rocks.
This is
called "seeding". Finestone
called this "hand injecting". There are also guns made
for this
than are used with an air compressor.ANOTHER
MYSTIC
SECRET:
Plenty of acrylic is used in the
mortar. We used
Flex-con half
and half with water, like we usually use in our finish
coat anyway.
Without acrylic, the rocks won't stick.
Sadly, I don't think Finestone
corporation still
makes their
aggregated stucco finish. I think all they do now is
make synthetic
garbage.
They were an innovator in beautiful and durable stucco
finishes.